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Friday, April 27, 2012

Nation States do
not Need Ideologies to Exist

Columnist Yasser Latif
Hamdani proves how an ideology is not needed for a nation or a state to develop
on all front.

Ultimately, through
observation, facts that are inconsistent with the reigning paradigm emerge.
Slowly, one of the alternate paradigms triumphs over the competing paradigms
for several possible reasons: its solution to the crisis is more elegant, and
holds promise of future inquiry. Soon enough, a new crisis emerges and
alternate paradigms are proposed. As science experiences a paradigm shift,
presumptions are reset.

One of the greatest
examples of this phenomenon is the Copernican Revolution, which changed the
Earth's status as the center of universe. Before the Copernican Revolution, the
Earth's status as the center of the universe was considered fundamental to
everything from explanation of why the clouds move to why water pumps work.
Faced with the new idea that it is in fact the Earth that revolves around the
Sun, all fields of science had to gradually adapt to this new idea.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

by Mike Ghouse

Mike Ghouse, thecolumnist explains how use of religion in everything political has brought itto the utmost upheaval.

Not now. Democrats, Republicans and independents all show a growing distaste for so much talk about religion. Democrats scored the highest, followed by independents and then Republicans.

There are exceptions. White and black evangelicals are more comfortable with religion being a big part of the political debate than most other traditions.

But this data represents a serious shift from the past. In 2001, for example, only 14 percent of independents thought there was too much talk about religion. Today, that number is 42 percent. (You can read more about historic trends in this link.)

by A. Faizur Rahman

Columnist A. Faizur
Rahman describes all the aspects of law of inheritance in Islam in the
following words:

A study of the two
main verses on the law of inheritance would reveal that the apparent disparity
that exists between the percentage of shares assigned to men and women is
because of the role they play in the social and family set up. Gender has
nothing to with it. Let’s analyse the following verses.

The Islamic law of inheritance is yet another legislation which is subject of heated debates by the clergy and the laity alike. The law is too elaborate and intricate to be discussed in its entirety here. Therefore, the scope of this study is confined to those specific provisions that concern the apportionment of shares to women and to check if there is any inherent gender-bias in the allotments without going into the complexity of law itself.

A study of the two main verses on the law of inheritance would reveal that the apparent disparity that exists between the percentage of shares assigned to men and women is because of the role they play in the social and family set up. Gender has nothing to with it. Let’s analyse the following verses.

by Ayodeji Alabi

Columnist Ayodeji
Alabi proves how all kinds of upheaval in the world is because of us forgetting
God. He writes: Violence is the exertion of physical force against a perceived
opponent, barrier or challenge, so as to kill, injure, weaken, overcome or
abuse. It is the application and /or display of intense, turbulent or furious
and often destructive action to achieve control and /or dominion in the event
of perceived opposition, either real or imagined, against a desired goal or
target. The intent of violence is, “to subdue or take by force, something”
(either justifiably, legally or morally, or otherwise), which is in contention
between two or more individuals or groups, including persons, communities,
nations, associations, professions, government and religions, etc. Synonyms of
‘violence’ include force, coercion, compulsion, constraint, and duress. Closely
related to these are fury, savagery, assault, attack, clash, onslaught,
rampage, struggle, tumult, and uproar. The only antonym of all the above is
‘peace’, which only synonym is ‘non-violence.’ It is also instructive to state
that the two, violence and peace, do not co-habit. Peace disappears where violence
exists, and vice versa. Peace is good, while violence destroys. Being ‘good’ is
a virtue which flows from the inside of a man through the infilling of the
Spirit of God.

They occasionally traffic in outright fabrications: that he attended a radical madrasa in Indonesia as a child or that he put his hand on the Qur’an to be sworn in as president. An even more apocalyptic subset believes Obama to be nothing short of the anti-Christ. Indeed, these more orthodox faithful have carefully shifted the debate from Obama being Muslim to Obama acting Muslim. …

Columnist Usman
Ahmedani describes how Islamophobia is created and is being used a political
ploy.

Irshad Manji's
arguments 'perpetuate the tendency to think of Muslims as Muslims first and
alone'. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

I was reminded of this
cartoon during Irshad Manji's recent talk at a Free Speech Debate event at
Oxford University. Manji opposes all legal prohibitions on free speech, even to
the point of permitting the publication of death threats against herself. While
certainly idiosyncratic, this position is internally consistent, avoiding the
hypocrisy that habitually bedevils attempts to ban certain types of free speech
on the grounds of offence but not others. However, once we accept that the
state should not play the role of censor, an absolutist defence of free speech
as "life itself", as Salman Rushdie once put it, cannot tell us how
to judge between individual instances of its exercise.

by Fahad Faruqui

Columnist Fahad
Faruqui describes life and death of Sufi Mansur Hallaj as: For some, Mansur
al-Hallaj was a magician, a heretic and a lunatic, who publicly claimed to be
one with the One and deserved to be executed for heresy. But to his
sympathizers he was a Sufi saint, who was martyred almost 1,100 years ago, on
March 26, 922, allegedly for his ecstatic utterance.

The legends
surrounding Hallaj are many. Despite the 2,000 pages written by Louis
Massignon, we still don't know much about him and there's no way to validate
the claim that he ever uttered the words "ana'l-haqq" (I am the
Truth), which many believe was the cause of his arrest, followed by nine-year
long trial, leading to his public execution.

on �
i h � �A| the
Earth's status as the center of universe. Before the Copernican Revolution, the
Earth's status as the center of the universe was considered fundamental to
everything from explanation of why the clouds move to why water pumps work.
Faced with the new idea that it is in fact the Earth that revolves around the
Sun, all fields of science had to gradually adapt to this new idea.

by Marc Schneier and Shamsi Ali

Columnists Marc
Schneier and Shamsi Ali advocate the importance of Muslim and Jewish strong
ties. They writ: As a rabbi and an imam, we deeply mourn the tragic loss of
innocent lives in the murderous terrorist attacks in France. We express our
heartfelt sympathy and compassion for the bereaved.

Thousands of Muslims
and Jews reacted to the savage killings of three children and a rabbi at a
Jewish school in Toulouse and the earlier murders of three French soldiers,
including two Muslims, by joining together in solidarity marches in communities
throughout Paris.

One of the greatest
examples of this phenomenon is the Copernican Revolution, which changed the
Earth's status as the center of universe. Before the Copernican Revolution, the
Earth's status as the center of the universe was considered fundamental to
everything from explanation of why the clouds move to why water pumps work.
Faced with the new idea that it is in fact the Earth that revolves around the
Sun, all fields of science had to gradually adapt to this new idea.

by Jacob K. Lupai

The word Islam is commonly used with two related meanings. On the one hand it denotes a religion, a system of belief and worship and on the other hand, the civilization that grew up and flourished under the aegis of that religion. Islam as a religion is closer to the Judeo-Christian tradition than to any of the great religions of Asia such as Hinduism, Buddhism or Confucianism. Judaism and Islam share the belief in a divine law that regulates human activity including food and drink. …

Columnist Yasser Latif
Hamdani proves how an ideology is not needed for a nation or a state to develop
on all front.

Ultimately, through
observation, facts that are inconsistent with the reigning paradigm emerge.
Slowly, one of the alternate paradigms triumphs over the competing paradigms
for several possible reasons: its solution to the crisis is more elegant, and
holds promise of future inquiry. Soon enough, a new crisis emerges and
alternate paradigms are proposed. As science experiences a paradigm shift,
presumptions are reset.

One of the greatest
examples of this phenomenon is the Copernican Revolution, which changed the
Earth's status as the center of universe. Before the Copernican Revolution, the
Earth's status as the center of the universe was considered fundamental to
everything from explanation of why the clouds move to why water pumps work.
Faced with the new idea that it is in fact the Earth that revolves around the
Sun, all fields of science had to gradually adapt to this new idea.

by Dr. Adis Duderija, New Age Islam

New Age Islam
columnist Dr. Adis Duderija authentically describes Muslims approach to
interfaith dialogue. He writes: I would like to analyse the imam’s (who has a
significant following and is seen as ‘progressive’ by many young people) speech
in relation to the question of an authentic vs. apologetic approach to
inter-faith dialogue. An authentic approach I define as one that deals with the
reality of the complex nature ,diversity and at times mutually exclusive
strands of what constitutes a religious tradition with the attendant issue of
who has the power and authority to ‘canonise’ and interpret that very
tradition. An approach which evaluates religious tradition holistically,
contextually and in a historically sensitive manner An apologetic approach, on the other hand,
strives to score an ideological point in most cases but importantly it is also
a one dimensional approach and an understanding of the religious tradition
based on selective utilisation of tradition that suppresses certain aspects of
it and privileges others, an approach which is at best semi-contextualist and
not attune to the historical circumstances in which the tradition unfolded.

by Edmund Blair, Tom Perry

This article by Edmund
Blair, Tom Perry talks of the result of Arab Spring and describes how Islamists
have been able to take advantage of the situation. They write: The Muslim
Brotherhood has quietly spread its influence far beyond Egypt in its 84-year
history, but Arab revolts have opened broad new political horizons the group
hopes will reflect its founder’s vision for the Arab and Islamic world.

“There is no doubt that Hassan al-Banna
believed in Islamic unity and not just Arab unity. But with such a vision we
must consider reality and what is possible,” said Mahmoud Ghozlan, a member of
the Brotherhood’s executive bureau.

Interviewed at the group’s new headquarters in
Cairo, he called such unity a “long-term objective,” but seemed alive to the
possibilities thrown up by a ferment in which Islamists are driving mainstream
politics across North Africa and beyond.

lear th� h s �A| �&{ so attacks on the
institutions and symbols of the republic.

by Eve Gani

Columnist Eve Gani has
described how French Jews and Muslims did come together to mourn in the
aftermath of Toulouse killing in the following words:

French Jews and
Muslims have come together to mourn, breaking easy links between their people
and Israeli policies or Jihadism

We were in a state of shock that Monday, early
in the morning, when we discovered that our children's lives had been snatched
by a cold-hearted killer who had poured his hate and his bullets into the heart
of a Jewish school.

Then the anguish came, with all the questions
that followed about who the killer was and the possibility he might kill again.
Given who the victims were – Muslims in Montauban, Jews in Toulouse – we
realised very quickly there was a message of racist, anti-Semitic hate, but
also, because of the two institutions that were hit, the army on the one hand,
the school on the other, it was clear that these were also attacks on the
institutions and symbols of the republic.

by Nezar Hamze

This article by Nezar
Hamze describes God’s Islamic concept in following lines:

The most frequent
question I get asked by my fellow Americans is to explain how Muslims believe
in God. They ask, who or what is Allah? Allah is the Arabic name of God, the
same God of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad.

The first and most important teaching of Islam
is the oneness or uniqueness of God (Allah). This teaching is the first part of
the first pillar of Islam and the first article of faith that Muslims must
believe. Islam teaches a oneness of God that goes beyond the English term
"one."

In the 112th chapter of the Quran, Surah
Al-Iklhas, God explains to humanity how to believe in him. This chapter is so
important that some narrations of the Prophet Mohammed say, if the Quran were
to be divided into three sections, the meaning of Surah Al-Iklhas would
represent 1/3 of the overall content of the Quran.

by Noah Fitzgerel

Columnist Noah
Fitzgerel discusses in detail to prove that Muslims can not be portrayed as
radicals and writes: "The portrayal of Muslims as victims or heroes is at
best partially accurate."

The article aimed to
appeal to readers through the utilization of statistics that evinced the
growing persecution of Christians in nations with populations which
overwhelmingly adhere to Islam. I should establish that Ms. Ali's assertion of the
rising persecution of Christians in Muslim nations is a real problem, and just
as unfortunate as Ms. Ali stated. Fundamentally, the systematic persecution of
a people is never acceptable. However, I believe that the end to which Ms. Ali
attempted to use the statistics was inappropriate.

by Alejandro J. Beutel and Haris Tarin

What we share is the experience of having shaped our American Muslim identity on a college campus through involvement with Muslim student organizations. Becoming involved in civic activism, we always saw our values as Americans and as Muslims in harmony with each other. The NYPD's surveillance of an entire community based on their faith -- with no evidence of criminal activity -- is a blow against democracy ….

by S. Nihal Singh

To anyone outside
America, starting a new war in the Greater Middle East region after defeats or
near defeats in two wars would be sheer madness. But the manner in which the
United States is discussing the prospect of a war against Iran in collusion
with Israel, or singly by the latter, is a startling reminder of how Iran is
part of domestic policy and the compulsions of electoral politics.

The conventional wisdom in America is that
much as US President Barack Obama wants to avoid a third war in the region, he
cannot but strike a macho pose because Israel has formidable advantages in
compelling the White House to act as it desires.

by Nadeem F. Paracha

I’m sure some of you must be squirming and itching to ridicule me, but remember it was I who first suggested that the CIA was using fake polio vaccination campaigns in FATA to gather intelligence in the area, that Husain Haqqani was working against the interest of Pakistan and that man never walked on the moon. It was an elaborate hoax. …

by Shajahan Madampat

Columnist Shajahan
Madampat writes about Islamism and democracy being inherently incompatible with
each other. He writes:

DOES the emergence of
Islamism, or political Islam, as a potentially transformative force in the Arab
world augur well for democratic prospects in the region? Will Islamism
graduate, under the compulsions of realpolitik, to become the Arab Muslim
equivalent of Europe's Christian Democrats or use the electoral route to
eventually try and establish a scripturally vindicated form of theocratic or
theo-democratic tyranny?

The question assumes special significance now,
as political developments over the past one year have confirmed that the fall
of dictatorships in Arab countries is most likely to be followed by the rise of
Islamists to power. Are the core beliefs and ideological fundamentals that the
Islamists stand for compatible with even the elementary concepts of democracy?

by Austin Cline

Columnist Austin Cline
writes about the bigotry spread far and wide in America against anti-atheism in
following words:

The strength of
anti-atheist bigotry in America is undeniable. But how exactly does this
anti-atheist bigotry manifest? How do religious theists — Christians, primarily
— express or act on their bigotry towards atheists? What does anti-atheist
bigotry in America look like?

The most fundamental
and serious expression of anti-atheist bigotry in America is to deny atheists'
very humanity on some level. The worst form is to deny that atheists have any
reason to be moral because morality requires gods and/or morality proves the
existence of gods. This sort of hate-mongering feeds the perception that
atheist can't be trusted, a frequently cited reason for discrimination against
atheists.

by Sarah Posner

Columnist Sarah Posner
proves how our liberty and our religious freedom granted by God is under
threat. She evokes to stand up against the atrocities and be counted. She
writes:

“Our liberty, our
freedom of religion, inalienable, granted by God, and enshrined in our
Constitution, is under attack,” Hagen added, parroting the talking points of
the national effort by anti-contraception activists who staged 140 simultaneous
rallies

across the country on
Friday. Hagen, a waitress at Carrabba’s who told me she wasn’t particularly
political before she learned of the Obama administration’s contraception coverage
requirement in January, called the contraception benefit “coercion,” an
“infringement of our conscience and our religious freedom,"
“indefensible,” and “unjustifiable before God.”

by Derek Henry Flood

Columnist Derek Henry
Flood researches to topic Arab Spring and how it bleeds

deeper into Africa in
the following article.

"He is a black
man! From Africa!" was how an exuberant Libyan rebel fighter described to
Asia Times Online a purported Chadian national captured from pro-Gaddafi forces
after the rebel victory in the immediate aftermath of the first battle of Brega
on March 2, 2011.

Brega, a key oil terminal town west of
Benghazi, was significant for not only being the first clear military victory
for the rebels against regime forces who had begun to creep eastward toward the
rebel stronghold of Benghazi, but also for more quietly being the place where
rebel forces began to disseminate statements to journalists about the
importance of sub-Saharan Africans in the war that at times bordered on

by Flavia Agnes

Columnist Flavia Agnes
presents a deep study of marriage laws proposed in the parliament for
amendment. She says it does not consider the rights of women in it. She writes:

The proposed
amendments to marriage laws lack the detail to guarantee women their full due

The questions foremost
in the minds of activists are — how will the provisions for quick divorces
affect rural women for whom marriage symbolises social status and divorce
spells doom and destitution? Also, what will be the guidelines for distributing
property, when the concept is new and hitherto unknown to Indian family law
jurisprudence? Will the inherent gender biases that predominate court

proceedings overshadow
fair distribution? More importantly, if a husband, prior to filing the divorce
petition transfers his property to his relatives or squanders away his wealth,
what will be left for fair distribution at the time of divorce? Such trends are
being adopted to defeat women’s claims to meagre maintenance. Will the new
amendment provide further boost to such tendencies?

According to Flavia
Agnes women rights have not been fully taken into consideration in the proposed
marriage law.

by Barry Rubin

Columnist Barry Rubin
says Islamic schools, mosques and indoctrination at home is the cause of
radicalisation of Islam. He writes:

Radicalism is being passed on to the third
generation through Islamic schools, mosques and indoctrination at home. In
effect, France and other countries are turning themselves into permanently
unstable bi-national states. That’s dangerous

The murders in
Toulouse should be a wake-up call for France and all of Europe. True, the
assaults on Jews and French soldiers were three individual terror attacks
perpetrated supposedly by a single individual. The more information that
emerges, however, the clearer it becomes that this terrorist was well connected
to a bigger Al Qaeda network.

by Riyaz Wani

Columnist Riyaz Wani
gives detail of how Wahhabis, Deobandis and Tablighi Jamaat are poisoning the
young minds in Kashmir. He writes:

Wahhabis. Deobandis.
Tablighi Jamaat. Orthodox outfits have been turning the Valley into a bastion
of puritanical Islam. But the Sufis are fighting back to regain their moorings.

A COLOURFUL procession stretched a mile long
along the picturesque Dal Lake. A truck carrying preachers in green turbans was
followed by thousands of faithfuls waving green flags. Some people were busy at
makeshift kitchens on the roadside where tehri (turmeric-dyed rice), salt tea
and kehwa were served to the devotees.

by Khaled Ahmed

Columnist Khaled Ahmed,
while reviewing the book “Punjab Taliba” by Mujahid Hussain, writes:

The terrorists are
angry at the book. Punjab government has now joined them. The terrorists are
scary enough — because the author, who now lives abroad, was once attacked by
them. Some years ago, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah denied that south
Punjab was a haven of the Punjabi Taliban. South Punjab contains 13 districts
with a population of 27 million: Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Bhakkar, DG Khan,
Jhang, Khanewal, Layyah, Lodhran, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan,
Rajanpur, and Vehari.

Columnist Julian
Borger explores the possibilities of nuclear watchdog being biased against
Iran. He goes on to describe as under:

Former officials warn
of parallels between IAEA approach to Iran and mistakes over Iraq's supposed
weapons of mass destruction

The head of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear watchdog at the heart of
the growing Iranian crisis, has been accused by several former senior officials
of pro-western bias, over-reliance on unverified intelligence and of sidelining
skeptics.

The ex-FBI
Informant with a Change of Heart: There is no real Hunt, Its Fixed

Columnist Paul Harris
writes how FBI works to root out threats of radical Islamism. He writes:

Craig Monteilh
describes how he pretended to be a radical Muslim in order to root out
potential threats, shining a light on some of the bureau's more ethically murky
practices

Craig Monteilh says he
did not balk when his FBI handlers gave him the OK to have sex with the Muslim
women his undercover operation was targeting. Nor, at the time, did he shy away
from recording their pillow talk.

Columnist Jytte Klausen presents the background of the
Merah incident and brings forward the details in following words:

Mohamed Merah was
practically a prince in violent extremist circles.

Mohamed Merah, the
Frenchman who assassinated three French paratroopers of North African
background and then launched a terrible attack on a Jewish school—murdering a
teacher, his two young sons and an 8-year-old girl—claimed to act for al Qaeda.
Skeptics have dismissed the claim, saying al Qaeda barely functions anymore.
But Merah was no "lone wolf" and did indeed bear the imprint of al
Qaeda.

Young and alienated,
Merah had served two years in a juvenile prison for robbery.

Was he rejected by
French society because of his Algerian background? "He

Monday, April 2, 2012

Hindus Leaving Homeland Amid Security Fears
Columnist Ali K Chishti describes the pathetic condition in which the minorities of Pakistan are living. For the fear of security they are fleeing their homeland. The author writes:
Having lived in Sindh for centuries, Hindus are migrating because of forced conversions, murders and abductions for ransom
Mohan Lal Harchandani, another Hindu leader, says his community has been living in Sindh for thousands of years. "Not only do we see Pakistan as our country, we work and pray for its prosperity," he said.
But the community is concerned about its security. Hindus were 16 percent of Pakistan's population in 1947, but have been reduced to 2 percent. In 1947, there were 428 functioning temples in the country. Now, there are only 26, according to Jamohan Kumar Arora from Rawalpindi. But the 3 million Hindus as per the 1998 census are still the largest religious minority in Pakistan. Most of them live in Karachi, Mirpurkhas and Sukkur regions of Sindh.

Columnist Hamid A Rashid describes the importance of pluralism through cultural integration in the society by celebration each other’s festivals. He writes:
Basant is significant for many reasons, not least that it is a centuries-old cultural tradition of Punjab that cuts across all lines of society, religion, caste and creed. In many ways, the universality of the festival makes it symbolic of the culture of tolerance and diversity that the subcontinent was once known for. The upkeep of this festival is particularly crucial for Pakistan and Lahore specifically. Consider: in a
society as polarised and fragmented as ours, the need to focus on events and issues that bind us together is not just important, it is an existential imperative. Since there is no counter-narrative either in the form of media outreach or social events to which the majority of the populace subscribes, the country remains mired in a cycle of conservatism with no credible cultural opposition. And while Basant has been banned ostensibly for security reasons, its banning will undoubtedly strengthen the lunatic fringe that considers the festival a Hindu/Un Islamic event and our culture as a mere extension of their version of Islam.

The Teachings of Islam Encompass the Whole Life
The article, “The Teaching of Islam Encompass the whole life” is spiritual in nature and deals with the Islamic teachings which guide our lives. The article goes on as:
EVERY human being is connected with Allah spiritually. However, in this material world, we also get ourselves connected with other entities, such as parents, family, kin, community, society, country etc. The ethics of connectivity with others has deep spiritual roots in religion. Our day-to-day condition, happy or otherwise, is also subjected to the interaction with these relationships. Every entity or relationship with which we are connected entails certain rights and responsibilities. We are to fulfil these to maintain cordiality in relationships. The teachings of Islam encompass the whole life; they guide us first to fortify our spiritual bond with Allah. This is fundamental and at the core of Islam’s overall message.http://www.newageislam.com/islam-and-spiritualism/amin-valliani/the-teachings-of-islam-encompass-the-whole-life/d/6906

Columnist Ayesha Pervez has taken a very serious issue of girls getting married with the men of their father’s age. She writes, “A few weeks ago, I happened to witness the unfortunate crumbling and subsequent break-up of a close friend’s marriage. After hearing both sides of the story, I arrived to a conclusion regarding the main reason behind the failure: The husband was 20 years older than his wife.

Although common in an eastern society where arranged marriages are the norm, such large age-gaps (10 years and more) often have great drawbacks in a relationship as intimate as marriage. In our society, parents are in a rush to marry off their daughters before they hit the twenty-fifth birthday mark (or even earlier), and the foremost attribute they seek is financial stability, even if the candidate is a whole generation ahead in terms of age and experience.”

Modesty of Dress and Indian Culture
Columnist Suchi Govindarajan, while describing the importance of modesty in Indian culture through dresses, writes, “
The problem, sir/madam, is that revealing attire is being worn. Deep-neck and sleeveless tops, exposed legs — and these are just the middle-aged priests! Some priests are even (Shiva Shiva!) doing away with the upper garment. And I am told some temple managements even encourage this.
But this is the worst thing. They are doing this in front of ladies and Gods, with no shame at all. Just the other day, I saw a priest without upper garments making an offering to God (which itself is shameful) and then coming out just like that to give prasadam to the ladies. The whole sanctity of the ceremony is spoilt. Plus, what evils may result if they speak to the ladies like that.

Clothe Your Women with Kindness
Columnist Fahad Faruqui describes how kindness to the women in our household is the source of our progress both here and hereafter. He writes:
Every time I hear news of a man using physical force on his wife and children, I become furious. What is further infuriating is that as a man, to react the way I do is deemed strange. For some godforsaken reason it is widely accepted that it's a man's prerogative to correct women by force, especially if they are ungrateful (whatever that means) and if they don't obey the commands of their husbands.
Women who have been in such situations tell me that a wife can be beaten up for something as trivial as excessively salting food.

The Ultimate, Sacred and Supreme Love
Columnist Kashif Shahzada defines sacred and supreme love in the following words:
Did you know what the real measure of love is? Sacrifice. Yes, that is true! You can claim your love as much as you like, blow your own trumpet as loud as possible, but its real measure, its factual test occurs when you make or do not make a sacrifice for the beloved.
What is it that you are willing to sacrifice; willing to give up; and willing to forego for your love is what measures your commitment and devotion! The greater the sacrifice, the stronger the devotion Also, it is a prerogative of devotion that sacrifices should be made.

Humyan Rights situation in Gilgit Baltistan and Pakistani Administrated Kashmir, Presentation by Dr Shabir Choudhr
This speech in UNHRC by Dr Shabir Choudhry brings forward human rights deteriorating situation in PoK and Gilgit Baltistan in front of the world through this platform. He says:
Mr Chairman, friends and colleagues aslam o alaykam and good afternoon
Few days ago, in one informal meeting of some concerned citizens of former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir in Geneva, it was suggested that we should call Gilgit Baltistan as ‘Occupied Gilgit Baltistan’ and should call Azad Kashmir as ‘Pakistani Occupied Kashmir’ to explain illegal occupation of these areas by Pakistan and their disputed nature.

US Afghan Strategy In Tatters Following Massacre of 16 Civiliansby Bill Van Auken
Bill Van Auken is an activist for the Socialist Equality Party
Karzai himself is in no hurry to see the US and NATO military presence draw to a close. He and his corrupt coterie know that his regime would never survive without the armed protection and funding provided by the US and the other imperialist powers. While there was no mention in the Taliban statement of the massacre in Kandahar, it may well see it as creating more favorable conditions for resisting the occupation. …http://www.newageislam.com/islam-and-the-west/bill-van-auken/us-afghan-strategy-in-tatters-following-massacre-of-16-civilians/d/6866